An in-depth look at one album. Part of the Spotlight series run by Group Therapy.
Paul McCartney has released so many solo albums (thirty at least, including Wings but excluding his classical efforts) that I’ve given up trying to rank them. Egypt Station, his latest, is probably not in the top five, but it is … Continue reading Album Spotlight: Paul McCartney—Egypt Station
When the Beatles’ album catalog was released in 1987 for the first time on CD, EMI realized that there were a number of songs that had never been included on albums which would become otherwise unavailable. So they put together … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Past Masters
Abbey Road, one of the Beatles’ best records, was also their final recording, although Let It Be would be released the following year. Apparently, the group had decided, consciously or subconsciously, to make an album which would erase the bad … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Abbey Road
Like Magical Mystery Tour, Let It Be can’t be discussed without an extensive knowledge of what the Beatles intended for the record. Following is a brief rundown, but there’s plenty more to learn if you take the time. The Beatles … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Let It Be
If Magical Mystery Tour was the double EP set that should have been (and soon was) an album, then Yellow Submarine, the Beatles’ eleventh record, was the album that should have been an EP. With only four new songs and … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Yellow Submarine
Many Beatles albums exist outside of the context of the events that were happening in real life at the time of the work’s recording. Magical Mystery Tour, the group’s ninth album, is not one of those records. In order … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Magical Mystery Tour
The Beatles’ eighth album, released June 1st, 1967, is their most famous and had the greatest musical impact of any of their records. In the famed Summer of Love of that year, everyone—EVERYONE—was listening to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Revolver, the Beatles’ seventh album, is their greatest overall achievement and the dividing line between their Early and Late periods of work. (You could also say it’s the peak of their Middle period if you wanted to divide their career … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Revolver
If the Beatles had disbanded prior to the release of Rubber Soul, their sixth album, they would be remembered, if at all, as a talented pop group of the early Sixties with a tremendous amount of songwriting talent and innovation. … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Rubber Soul
Help! was rather a struggle for me to find a way into reviewing it. While trying to get a handle on what I wanted to say, I asked my twenty something son what he thought of it. “That’s my favorite … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Help!
There’s no denying that Beatles For Sale, the band’s fourth album, is a bit of a comedown from the first three. The exuberance of the earlier records is muted, and the overall tone is sadder and a bit cynical. In … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles — Beatles For Sale
Britney Spears 5th Album is classic pop. It’s as far from an auteur piece as possible, it had so many producers that it’s credit list would be the same length as a Hollywood blockbuster. It was the music industry at … Continue reading Album Spotlight – Britney Spears : Blackout
With their third album, A Hard Day’s Night, the Beatles met the challenge of providing a film soundtrack for the first time, and despite the time they were putting in making the movie, the result is one of their finest. … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—A Hard Day’s Night
One could be forgiven for expecting that the Beatles’ second record wouldn’t be as groundbreaking as their first. But the group avoided the dreaded sophomore slump with their album With the Beatles, released November 23, 1963. Coming off of two more … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—With The Beatles
It was fifty-five years prior to this date of publication that the main recording session for the Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me, took place. As Mark Lewisohn, the Beatles’ foremost biographer, later wrote, there have scarcely been 585 more … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles—Please Please Me
Nothing from Donuts will ever be performed at a concert. Time is the donut of the heart. The track “Lightworks” samples electronic pioneer Raymond Scott, who composed music for Looney Tunes and built some of the earliest synthesizers. His most … Continue reading Album Spotlight: J Dilla – Donuts
Christmastime is here again/Ain’t been round since you know when… —The Beatles Did you know that the Beatles recorded a Christmas album? They did. Unfortunately, it wasn’t filled with their covers of songs like Good King Wenceslas and Rudolph The … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Beatles Christmas Album
The Beastie Boys’ landmark sophomore album Paul’s Boutique is a bit hard for me to write about. It is a dizzying album that I’ve lived with for so long, yet I still feel like I have yet to unlock all … Continue reading Album Spotlight: Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
I like noise. I like big-ass vicious noise that makes my head spin. I wanna feel it whipping through me like a f*cking jolt. We’re so dilapidated and crushed by our pathetic existence we need it like a fix. – … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy (1985)
The debut album by one-half of the Spacemen 3 songwriters (Jason Pierce, AKA J Spaceman), Lazer Guided Melodies continues and deepens his old band’s investigations into contemplative, despairing, or ecstatic states. As with their forbears in the Velvet Underground, those … Continue reading Album Spotlight: Spiritualized – Lazer Guided Melodies (1992 – 61 min.)
The Cure – Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me The seventh studio LP by English rock band The Cure, and the one that broke them in the U.S. (reaching the Billboard top 40), 1987’s Kiss Me (x3) is a sprawling … Continue reading Album Spotlight: The Cure – Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987)
